


take my hand, take my whole life too

by fallenhurricane



Series: Malec Playlist [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Mundane Magnus Bane, Mundane Magnus Bane/Mundane Alec Lightwood, Vignette, i don't know lmao this is a mess, this is really bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenhurricane/pseuds/fallenhurricane
Summary: “Hear me out,” Magnus begins, spreading his hands out in front of him. “Victor’s frat is having a party this weekend and he so kindly invited me. I can’t not show up, but I also can’t show up alone.”Alec quirks a brow at him. “That’s it? You want me to go to a party with you?” He snorts. “Fine.”“Okay, but—“ Magnus says, and Alec looks at him over his shoulder, “as my boyfriend?” Alec’s eyes widen and he sputters. “Not like a real boyfriend! Oh god. I meant, like, could you pretend? Just to make Victor really believe that I’m over him and moved on to something better.”
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Malec Playlist [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757935
Comments: 9
Kudos: 129





	take my hand, take my whole life too

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obsessed with fake dating plots so this happened. I apologize in advance.

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be

-Elvis Presley, "Can't Help Falling in Love"

It all starts when Magnus storms into their dorm room, slamming the door behind him. Alec startles, knocking his coffee all over his desk, and sends a disgruntled look at his roommate. But Magnus doesn’t see him; he’s now busy pacing back and forth in the tiny room.

Alec quickly rescues his notes and laptop, moving them to his bed while he grabs a towel to wipe up the coffee. He mourns the caffeine, needed for the late night he has planned, and tosses the now empty cup in the garbage. Behind him, Magnus is murmuring to himself, shoulders tense and arms rigid at his sides. 

“Everything okay?” Alec asks. 

It’s obvious what the answer is before Magnus even says it. “No.”

Alec watches as his roommate keeps pacing, his footfalls heavier than usual. Magnus’ll be wearing a ditch into the floor soon enough. He reaches out and grabs Magnus’s arm, effectively stopping him. “What happened?”

Magnus looks at Alec’s hand on his blazer. He lets out a long sigh. “I ran into my ex.”

“That tool from high school?” Alec wrinkles his nose and withdraws his hand. He’s heard stories about the infamous Victor Aldertree, and none of them are pleasant.

“That’s the one.”

No wonder Magnus looks so stressed. He’s mentioned to Alec before that Victor had planned to go to school in California, but at the last minute changed his mind and ended up at NYU, and as big as the city and the campus was, that has inevitably left a possibility for Magnus to run into him. A possibility that Magnus _hates_. 

Alec doesn’t really know what to say. He doesn’t have any exes, friend or foe, so how to handle this situation is a mystery to him. He chews on his bottom lip and is about to quietly return to his homework when Magnus gasps. He’s looking at Alec with a glimmer in his rich brown eyes. Alec’s seen that look before; it means trouble. 

“...What?” 

“Do you want to do me a huge favor?”

“I’m not doing your laundry for you again. I almost shrunk one shirt and you gave me the silent treatment for two days.”

“I told you to use cold water. But no, hear me out,” Magnus begins, spreading his hands out in front of him. “Victor’s frat is having a party this weekend and he *so kindly* invited me. I can’t not show up, but I also can’t show up alone.” 

Alec quirks a brow at him. “That’s it? You want me to go to a party with you?” He snorts. He’s not a massive party fan, but he’s learned that they’re more fun with Magnus, and he’s become comfortable with the fact that he doesn’t like to drink and doesn’t have to pretend to for anyone else’s sake. He turns back to his desk, shrugging. “Fine.”

“Okay, but—“ Magnus says, and Alec looks at him over his shoulder, “as my boyfriend?” Alec’s eyes widen and he sputters. “Not like a real boyfriend! Oh god. I meant, like, could you pretend? Just to make Victor really believe that I’m over him and moved on to something better.” 

Alec’s face is burning. Something better? Boyfriend? _Fake_ boyfriend? This isn’t how college is supposed to go. He runs a hand over his face, groaning quietly. He just wants to do his homework.

Magnus holds up his hands, folded as if begging. “Please, Alexander?”

And that’s a dirty move and Magnus knows it. Alec can never say no to that. 

***

Friday night finds Alec staring into the mirror Magnus has hanging on his wardrobe door. He looks like he always does. Magnus had picked out his clothes and it’s not that different from what Alec would normally wear, but something feels different. He’s wearing a lightweight olive green sweater and black jeans tucked into his combat boots. His leather jacket looks stiff on his shoulders. They’re his everyday clothes but they feel odd -- restrictive, almost. Or maybe it's the pressure of what they're about to do. 

Magnus appears behind him and grins over his shoulder, their eyes meeting in the mirror. He looks dashing in tight black pants and a deep red silken shirt unbuttoned further than should strictly be allowed, a blazer atop it. The glittery eyeshadow he has on sparkles as he adjusts his ear cuff. “Ready to go?”

Alec nods. They leave the dorm, making their way through the city. The night was clear and the air was crisp, fall turning slowly into winter, cool but not cold. As they approached the brownstone the party was being held in, Magnus put his hand on Alec’s arm, pausing him. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” 

And Alec looks at him. Looks at his outfit, which, honestly, is stunning. Looks at the dark polish on his nails as he fiddles with the cuff on his ear. Looks at his finely coiffed hair, the necklaces dangling from his neck and resting against his chest. And he meets his deep brown eyes that Magnus has often complained about but that Alec finds so warm and comforting, like a cozy bed on a cold winter’s night. Magnus is watching Alec carefully, brows furrowed, and so Alec takes his hand and threads their fingers together, ignoring the way his heartbeat echoes in his throat. “Yeah.”

They walk up the steps to the porch, and with one last glance at each other, open the door. Music is blaring as soon as they step inside, and the place stinks of alcohol and weed. Alec wrinkles his nose. He doesn’t see anybody he recognizes, though it’s fairly dark and hard to see. He feels Magnus tug on his hand and allows himself to be pulled to the kitchen. 

It doesn’t take long for Victor to make himself known. Magnus is grabbing them each a bottle of beer from a cooler when he saunters into the room. “Magnus,” he says, voice thick with smugness, “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“I told you I’d stop by, didn’t I?” Magnus pops the top off a bottle and hands it to Alec, letting their fingers brush. “Here, darling.”

Alec just barely stops himself from choking at the pet name. They hadn’t really discussed any plans or rules for this scheme, but he hadn’t expected  _ that _ . Magnus sidles closer to him, looping an arm around his waist and Alec takes a sip of his beer and winces slightly at the bitter tang of it. He wasn’t planning on drinking tonight, but if this was how it was going to go, maybe some alcohol would help. He rests his arm on Magnus’s shoulder.

Victor eyes the two of them, and where their bodies touch. Alec takes another, larger sip. He cannot deal with this sober. Next to him, Magnus grins. “Have you met Alexander?” he draws. Alec can hear how amused he is, though he’s trying to cover it. Victor doesn’t seem to be able to tell if his squint is anything to by. 

“I haven’t.” 

“Well,” Magnus says. He looks at Alec and rakes his eyes up and down his body in a way clearly not meant to be subtle. Alec’s face feels hot, and he doesn’t think it’s all due to the alcohol. “Here he is.” 

“I see.” Victor seems to shake himself then, an odd smile spreading across his face. “Nice to meet you, Alexander.” He reaches a hand out to shake. 

Alec quickly sets his beer on the counter behind him so he can shake Victor’s hand, unwilling to let go of Magnus. “Alec,” he says. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Victor’s eyes flick between them again, and Alec’s hand tightens minutely on Magnus’s shoulder. In return, Magnus squeezes Alec’s waist. They smile at Victor in unison. 

“Well, this has been lovely, Victor.” Magnus turns, grabs Alec’s beer and places it back in his hand. “But really, we must be going. People to see and all that.” And he takes Alec’s hand in his and leads him out of the kitchen. Alec glances back just as they turn the corner to see Victor staring at the place they just stood, frowning. He grins.

* * *

It continues when Alec’s dad calls him early one Sunday. Magnus might overhear a bit of the conversation as he tries to fall back asleep, but it’s not on purpose. Their dorm room is small, and even though Alec had moved to the other end of it, standing by his desk and tapping his fingers on its wooden surface, his words are stark in the otherwise quiet room. 

“Okay, Dad,” he hears Alec say. “Yeah.” There’s a long pause, and Alec blows air out of his nose, an angry habit of his. “I’ll ask him, but he might be busy. Okay. Bye.” Magnus hears a thud, and when he pulls his head out from under his blankets, he sees Alec laying face down on the synthetic rug.

“So…” Magnus says. Alec doesn’t respond, doesn’t move. “You okay?”

Alec turns his head to the side and exhales. “My dad thinks I have a boyfriend.” 

Magnus raises his eyebrows. “Why does he think that?”   
  
“Because I’m an idiot.”   
  
“Alexander.”   
  
Alec grunts, rolling over onto his back and staring at the ceiling. He pinches his nose between two fingers. “He wanted me to go play tennis with him next Saturday. I hate tennis. I told him I had a date I couldn’t miss and he told me to bring the date to him. To play  _ tennis _ .” He lets his arm fall to the ground, boneless. “I don’t have a fucking date, Magnus.”

Magnus smirks. “You don’t say.”

“Fuck,” Alec says. He doesn’t move, laying like a snow angel on the grey and black rug. Magnus looks at his hair, falling back from his forehead towards the floor. It always looks so soft. “Fuuu-- Magnus.”

He startles, and readjusts his blankets, pulling his blankets back up to his chin. “What?”   


“Do you want to do me a huge favor?” 

And Magnus knows what he’s doing; he’s using Magnus’s same words back at him. Magnus didn’t think Alec would ever be the kind to throw a  _ favor  _ back in his face, but here they are. He knows what’s coming. And while some of him dreads it, part of him can’t wait for another excuse to hold Alec’s hand. But that doesn’t mean he has to make it easy for him. “What’s that, Alexander?”

Alec stands up and approaches Magnus where he still lays curled in bed. “Could you -- uh. You know how, for Victor’s party, we-- well, we-- y’know--”

Magnus snorts. “Pretended to date?” 

“Yeah.”   
  
“Yes, I recall.”

Alec folds his hands together, mimicking Magnus’s pleading pose from weeks ago. “Can we do that again? Just to fool my dad, please. He doesn’t know you’re my roommate, he’d have no idea.”

Magnus stares up at Alec, his hazel eyes huge and puppy-dog like, his hands clasped in front of him, a strand of hair falling onto his forehead. He sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine.” 

*

Magnus doesn’t know the first thing about tennis. He knows that somehow  _ love  _ has something to do with it? But that’s about as far as his knowledge goes. 

Alec, however, as much as he might hate tennis, plays like he’s been practicing for years. Which, Magnus reminds himself, he probably has been. Alec mentioned on the way to the country club that his father used to drag him, Izzy, and Jace to the club to play at least a few times a week, even in the winter, thanks to an indoor court. None of them enjoyed it, but that didn’t stop Robert -- he wanted his children to be multi-talented and picture perfect. Magnus stands off to the side as Alec returns his father’s serve with a backhand, his biceps and quads flaring with the effort; Magnus has to tear his eyes away. 

Although, evidently he doesn’t do it fast enough if the smirk Robert is giving him means anything. Alec’s return flies past Robert’s head as he watches Magnus, who feels himself blush. He tries not to look too embarrassed -- he is supposed to be Alec’s boyfriend, after all. He’s allowed to look.

A couple of hours later, when Robert is satisfied with the amount of tennis they have played and Alec is just about dripping sweat, the three of them stroll slowly down a paved walking path, meandering back to the country club’s main building where they were parked. Magnus and Alec walk hand in hand, mostly due to the questioning look Robert had given them when Magnus first trailed behind the father and son pair. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to use the showers here?” Robert asks, eyeing Alec’s sweaty t-shirt. 

Alec glances down at himself, at his sweat-stained shirt. He hates using the club’s showers -- even more so now that his dad knows he likes guys. He can feel his father’s curiosity whenever they’re in the locker room, wondering if Alec finds any of the business CEOs and other well-to-do middle aged men getting changed attractive. Alec doesn’t know how to explain to him how wrong he is, on so many levels, when his father has never voiced this question out loud. Now, he gapes like a fish as he tries to think of something to say. 

Luckily, Magnus comes to the rescue. 

“I’m afraid we don’t have time, Mr. Lightwood,” he says, voice bright. “I have a meeting with some classmates for a project soon, so we must get back to campus.” Alec squeezes his hand as Magnus smiles apologetically at Robert. They’ve arrived at the parking lot. “But it was so nice to meet you.” 

Robert nods, and claps Alec’s shoulder with a large hand. “It was nice to see you, Alec. We should do this again in a few weeks.” 

Alec nods, but Magnus cuts in, “We actually have finals in a few weeks, so we’ll be quite busy, but Alexander will call you!” 

Robert’s brows raise at  _ Alexander _ . “Okay. I look forward to it. It was nice to meet you, Matthew.” 

Alec grits his teeth. “Magnus.” 

“Right.”

Before anything can get more awkward, Magnus grins again, and tugs on Alec’s arm. He leads a floating Alec back to the car. “Give me the keys.”

“I can-”

“Alexander,” Magnus says, softly, and squeezes his hand. Alec looks up. He doesn’t know what’s wrong; today wasn’t the worst day with his father by far, but he still feels unsettled, off-kilter and unbalanced. And here’s Magnus, standing in front of him, holding his hand tightly, grounding him, even though Robert’s long gone. “Let me drive, okay?”

Alec nods. 

* * *

It becomes a pattern. Alec needs to get out of a situation, so Magnus says that  _ his boyfriend _ needs to see him, or that they have a date, or some other lie. When Magnus needs to make somebody jealous, Alec holds his hand and wraps his arms around his waist. It’s odd, but it’s comfortable, and it works for them. 

It works for them, maybe too well. 

Magnus asks Alec to go to a dance with him, a winter formal dance being held by an honors fraternity he’s in, and Alec can’t say no, not when Magnus looks at him with his big brown eyes and calls him Alexander. And he can’t let Magnus go alone. So they both put on their suits, Magnus’s a slate grey and Alec’s a pure black, and walk to the nearby hotel where the dance is being held. 

When Magnus takes Alec’s hand, he’s not surprised by the warmth divided by the cold rings that adorn his fingers; they’ve held hands enough at this point that now it feels familiar, comfortable. When Alec curves his hand around Magnus’s shoulder, Magnus instinctively leans in, resting against Alec’s side. He knows where he fits. 

And when Alec trips over Magnus’s feet on the dance floor, they giggle into each other’s shoulders. And when Magnus spills punch on his suit jacket, Alec drags him into the bathroom and helps him dab it out with cold water. And when they make their way back to the dance floor, hands tethered together, and someone points at the mistletoe hanging above them, they kiss. 

The kiss is awkward in the way that it isn’t. Magnus looks at Alec, raising his eyebrows, giving him an out if he doesn’t want to do this, to cross this boundary. Alec just smiles at him. And they meet in the middle, eyes fluttering closed. Magnus’s right hand comes up to hold Alec close, cradling the back of his neck. His left hand dips down to Alec’s waist. Alec’s hands find themselves on Magnus’s face, cupping his jaw. Their lips slide together in an easy rhythm. When Magnus pulls away, Alec leans forward without meaning to, chasing him, and Magnus giggles. 

Alec thinks it’s the perfect kiss -- the best kiss. It’s also his first kiss. 

It’s now that he knows he’s doomed.

* * *

Alec’s been thinking about it for weeks. 

That kiss. That night. Magnus’s hands on his waist and the way their feet bumped as they danced and how radiant Magnus looked in his grey suit and dark eyeliner. Every moment of it lives in his memory, replaying at the most inconvenient moments, like during his statistics final and when he packed his bag to leave the dorm for winter break. 

But it’s January now. Alec hasn’t seen Magnus in three weeks. He’s texted Magnus, but barely gotten a reply. They haven’t really talked, and certainly not about that night. 

There’s a thump on the door and Alec looks up from his perch on his bed to see Magnus bumping his way in, pushing a suitcase in front of him. His hair is wet from the snow outside, and his nose red from the cold. He’s adorable. 

“Hello, Alexander,” he says, grinning. 

Alec smiles in greeting and stands up to help Magnus with his bag, which is caught on the rug. His breath catches as their fingers brush, and he feels so stupid. They’ve held hands countless times, but now, he feels like he’s on fire even just being in the same room as him. 

Magnus must notice his stutter; when Alec looks up, Magnus is watching him with a furrowed brow. 

“Magnus-”   
  
“Alec-”

They stare at each other. Magnus sighs, pulling off his gloves and unwinding his scarf, laying them all on top of his desk. Alec sticks his hands in his pockets. 

“We should talk,” Alec says. And Magnus nods, leans against his desk, arms over his chest. “I’m sorry if-- I’m sorry if that thing, that  _ kiss,  _ made you uncomfortable, but I-- I really enjoyed it, I really enjoy  _ you _ , more than I thought--” He stops; Magnus has raised his hand, his mouth open. 

“What? Why do you think it made me uncomfortable?”

Alec lets out a small whine, and looks at his feet, wrapped in wool socks. “You never answered any of my texts.”

“Alexander,” Magnus says. He breathes. “My phone broke. It took me a while to get a new one and get everything transported over. I’m sorry.” Biting his lip, he takes a step towards Alec. “I promise you, I wasn’t uncomfortable.”

Alec looks up. “You weren’t?” 

“To say I was comfortable would be an understatement. But you know what's _not_ an understatement?"

Alec squints at him, but before he can say a word, Magnus is pulling him in for a kiss.  


  
  



End file.
